Dyeing
by Blackberetonawhitegirl
Summary: Levy decides to try a new look and goes a little overboard!
_I guess this is a one-shot? Still new to all of this, so correct me if I'm wrong. Liked the thought of Levy getting tired of her trademark blue hair and how Gajeel might react to the change._

* * *

Grasping her loose hair with both hands, Levy flipped it over her head and let it all cascade slowly back down to her shoulders. She huffed at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, which stared intently back. Caught between boredom and irritation, Levy decided she needed a change.

Cut it? No; the choppy shoulder-length mop was as short as she dared to go. She liked having a bit to tie back and the option of a simple up-do, should the occasion call for it.

Extensions? She'd never had them before but heard they were expensive and uncomfortable. Besides, too much hair would be another problem entirely. She was a low-maintenance kind of girl. Wash it, air-dry it, adorn with a headband or flower and get on with her day. Thinking of lengths of braids or heavy buns made her nix the extensions straightaway.

Maybe just styling it differently for now? She was pretty sure her hair was long enough to sport some short pigtails like Lucy had been wearing recently but they'd probably make her look younger than she already did.

Or perhaps she could just pull one side back with a decorative comb…

"Oy! What's taking so long in there?" Gajeel's gruff voice cut through Levy's thoughts.

"I'm thinking about something!" she shouted through the door, not taking her eyes off her reflection.

Levy tilted and nodded her head at all angles, trying to land on a decision. There was no shortage of inspiration at the guild. A variety of hairstyles and colors abounded, both male and female, and Levy had studied her fellow guild mates all week, looking for something that would suit her.

That's when it struck her: she had been looking for the wrong thing! Not style _,_ not length… _color_.

Her eyes lit at the prospect of changing her hair color- something she had never even thought about before. Her sky blue locks were as natural to her as any other color and as much as she liked it, perhaps a bright new hue was just what she needed. But…which one?

"What could you possibly have to think about in the bathroom? You've been in there forever," his voiced bordering on a whine.

Gajeel was dealing with a different kind of boredom in their bedroom, having woken up alone. The door opened and he straightened at the sight of his girlfriend.

"You're dressed already?" he asked, annoyed.

She nodded and walked past the bed to slip on her sandals.

"And you're going out," he said flatly. "Where?"

"I have some shopping to do. I'll be back in a bit."

The Iron Dragon Slayer scowled but rolled over in defeat, preparing to go back to sleep.

Levy smiled wistfully but she was determined in her mission this morning. She'd indulge him later.

The petite mage marched downtown to a small shop known for its beauty remedies. She and Lucy had visited a few times, looking for perfumes and nail polishes and other little trinkets. Now, she entered the shop and made her way to an aisle of hair products. Between rows of scented shampoos and bins of colorful accessories, sat dozens of little boxes of hair dye, every shade of the rainbow.

Levy had underestimated the shop's vast collection and sighed at the choices. After wrestling with herself for over ten minutes, she grit her teeth and grabbed at a bunch of boxes, tossing them into the shopping basket she carried.

The woman at the front of the shop rang up her purchases; she leveled a curious eye at the short blue-haired girl, but held her tongue. Having been in the business of beauty for many years, she had learned to only offer advice to young girls when asked. They could be so sensitive and huffy.

Safely back in her apartment bathroom, Levy scrutinized the various boxes spread across the floor. Which one should she attempt first?

Gajeel had left the apartment before she returned- probably to head to the guild for breakfast- and she was a bit relieved at having the opportunity to take her time with her project. He could be a bit of a pest when he was bored.

The instructions on the boxes were simple enough for magic hair dye that set almost instantaneously and without a mess. She only had to apply the colored potion to her wetted hair, massage gently until her natural color was covered, then rinse and dry. The dye would last for a few months before fading back to her true color, and the magic ensured her hair would not sustain any damage. In a few minutes, she'd be a whole new Levy.

She could go with the color closest to her own, in case she didn't want to stray too far from her comfort zone.

Or she could go the opposite route and choose the most shocking dye.

Could she pull off one color with highlights in another shade? Or tips? No, she decided against that; she didn't want to risk botching the job. Just one color for now.

Levy set her shoulders and made her choice.

"Here we go," she whispered to her equally uncertain reflection.

She stepped out of the shower and toweled off quickly, eager to see how the new color would look once her hair was brushed and dry. As she wrapped the towel around her head, she heard the apartment door slam shut, signaling that Gajeel had returned. Levy pulled on a robe and walked into the bedroom, beginning to file her fingernails on the bed.

A few minutes passed before Gajeel opened the bedroom door and peeked in, grinning in relief at seeing Levy reclining on their bed.

"You're back. Find what you were looking for?" he asked, plopping down on the bed next to her and resting his hands behind his head.

"I think so," she replied. "Wanna see?"

Gajeel perked, grinning at her devilishly. After being denied earlier, he was ready for anything.

Or so he thought.

Levy slowly pulled the towel loose from her head and shook her damp hair out, raking a few fingers through her now-lavender locks. She smiled nervously at Gajeel.

"So…what do you think?"

His jaw hung loose as he tried to find some words.

" _What did you do to your hair_?" he sputtered rashly.

Levy's face immediately dropped and she jumped from the bed.

"You don't like it!" she accused, embarrassment creeping into her cheeks. Maybe dying her hair had been a bad idea. Or had she picked the wrong color?

"I-I didn't say that!" Gajeel spat out. "It's just…"

"What?"

He was staring keenly at her now, his face twisted in confusion.

"Why?" he finally wheezed slowly.

"I don't know," she defended hotly. "I wanted a change, I guess!"

He took a long and heavy breath, trying desperately not to upset Levy further. He'd learned early on that he had a knack for saying the wrong thing to her. And as much as he enjoyed teasing her and watching her cheeks flush and puff, he knew better than to taunt a woman on her looks. He didn't understand it and he didn't really want to, but he knew enough to steer clear of comments about hair, makeup and clothes. It just wasn't worth it.

If she wanted a change- if she wanted to dye her hair every color of the rainbow to make herself happy- then ok.

She was glaring at him now, taking his silence for disapproval in her color choice. He sighed and leaned back against the headboard again, closing his eyes.

"Ok, Shrimp. Whatever you want."

"Yeah?" she asked cautiously.

"Yeah. But for the record, I liked the blue."

She softened, focusing on his resting form.

"Well, it's just for fun," she said gently. "Just for a little bit."

He grunted ambiguously as she ran a hand through her locks, both wondering how long before she tired of lavender.

* * *

A few weeks later, Levy emerged from their bathroom giddily. She jumped excitedly on the bed, waking Gajeel with a start.

"Oy! What the-!" he started to rage but stopped as Levy's face danced in front of his own.

"Well?" she chirped. "What do you think?"

He pulled himself up to sit as she knelt beside him in the center of the bed. Reaching a rough hand out, he fingered her newly bleached tresses, his girlfriend a sudden platinum blonde. He stared incredulously at the lock he held and glanced at Levy's cheerful face.

"Its-uh…different," he coughed, trying to smile for her. Holy hell, she was blonder than Bunny-girl!

Levy gushed as she fluffed her hair a bit. She was clearly enjoying this little experiment of hers.

"I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. I was afraid it would look like I was copying Lucy, but actually, it could be kind of fun pretending we're twins!"

"Twins. Yeah…" he said dryly.

Gajeel had told himself to grin and bear it when she dyed her hair purple and luckily, Levy's new color seemed to go over well with everyone so he hadn't had to resort to punching anyone. But blond? White blond? And wanting to be twins with Bunny-girl…he wasn't sure if he could handle that.

But he'd have to…for Levy's sake.

She had bounced out of the room to call her best friend and inform her of the latest hair color, planning a twin date or something equally ridiculous. Gajeel just rolled his eyes and exhaled, remembering how many boxes were stacked in their bathroom. He was going to have to pace himself.

* * *

The girls had their fun cavorting around town as blondes, but the fun wore thin for Levy once the 'dumb blonde' jokes starting rolling in. Lucy had a lifetime as a blond to grow a thick skin to such comments, but Levy, a devoted bookworm, took the insults too personally.

Oh, no. That would not do.

Soon, Levy was fiddling with another box of hair dye in the bathroom. Blond had been too light, too carefree and too…ridiculed. She resolved to go much more extreme this time.

"Oh bloody hell, woman!" Gajeel exclaimed when Levy debuted her newest color. "You don't want to be _my_ fucking twin now, do you?!"

Levy stood in the doorway of the bathroom, draped in one of Gajeel's shirts, hand on hip. Her mouth was curled into a smirk as she shook out her raven black mess of hair.

"I rather like it," she said darkly, eyes sparkly at him.

"No!" he shouted, arms crossed and face stern. "I'm putting my foot down, Levy. Purple, yellow, blue or pink! But not black. No way!"

"Ok, ok. Fine," she conceded. "How about just for today then?"

She was grinning mischievously and Gajeel knew what she was angling at.

"No. That's just too weird. Sorry."

He turned and left her in the bedroom, afraid if he stayed, he might actually take her up on her offer and scar himself for life.

An hour later, she tiptoed out to the living room, her crown ablaze with hot pink hair. Gajeel didn't even try to stifle his exasperated groan.

"Really, Levy?"

"Hey, you're the one who said pink! This one is on you, buddy!"

Gajeel sighed. He thought his girlfriend looking like _him_ was the worst she could do, but apparently he'd have to live with a Natsu look-a-like for a while. When was this going to end?

A week later, Levy changed to a bright strawberry red, only to earn herself a scathing glare from Erza as soon as she entered the guild.

Soon after, a dark forest green, inspired by the leather cover of one of Levy's favorite books. It hadn't looked half-bad, actually; especially when she tied her yellow scarf into it.

Then silvery grey, followed by a bright tangerine orange, a strange dark putrid yellow that even Levy agreed was horrendous, and finally a natural chestnut brown.

The last one hadn't bothered Gajeel as much, since it matched her eyes nicely. She looked very pretty but still, it didn't quite do her justice.

* * *

She stood in their little bathroom, flouncing her brunette locks this way and that, watching them shine and bounce in the morning light that streamed through the window. Her hair had grown out quite a bit in the months since she'd first started coloring it. She'd kept the chestnut the longest, having gotten the most compliments. It was also the first color that had helped her blend in as much as she did now, making recent missions a bit easier.

But now, she felt the satisfaction waning and looked at the little bottle in her hand. She had stopped by the little beauty shop the night before, inquiring after a special potion. The woman nodded sympathetically and found the item for Levy promptly.

"Well, it's been fun," she said to her reflection thoughtfully.

She gingerly poured the potion over her beautiful chestnut hair, working it in with her fingertips carefully. Then, she took a long, hot shower, paying extra attention to rinsing her hair, watching the brown water swirl about and disappear down the drain.

"Are you coming out any time soon, Shrimp?" Gajeel called irritably through the door.

He was getting really tired of her hogging the bathroom all the time.

"I'm done!" she called back as she hurriedly turned the water off and stepped out onto the tile.

Wrapped in a towel, Levy opened the door to Gajeel's solid frame standing in the doorway. She looked up and met his widened eyes.

He had braced himself for a head of violet hair, lemon yellow or even green and white stripes but was not expecting _this_. He grinned, pulling her sopping wet body into an embrace.

"I think I like this color the best, shorty," he said happily, resting his chin on her wet, sky blue hair.

Pressing her face to his chest, she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Me too."


End file.
